Deborah Harter Williams

Sep 2013 21

Television P.I.s through the ages – “gritty, glam, mismatched and quirky”

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

50s television was black and white–perfect for private eyes. Gritty fedora-hatted tough guys with a past represented by Boston Blackie, Mike Hammer and Richard Diamond who made the transition from movies and radio. Diamond morphed from Dick Powell’s singing New York radio version to David Janssen’s LA noir persona. More glamorous were Nick and Nora Charles and a quirkier take on the genre was Have Gun Will Travel’s Paladin. Favorite for the 50s - Peter Gunn, a classic with a jazz club setting and Henry Mancini theme. Dun, dun, dun, dun…Dun, dun, dun, dun, DA DA.

Jul 2013 27

King and Maxwell: TV Review

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Damn, I really wanted to like this show. It’s a great set-up: two former, tarnished Secret Service Agents now partner as private investigators. Jon Tenney as Sean King was enough to draw me in. As Fritz Howard on The Closer he was ironic, smart, strong and sexy. On Brothers & Sisters he used those same characteristics to good effect as a con-man doctor going after Nora Walker’s affections and checkbook.

Jun 2013 22

Motive – Tell Me Why, Nice Try: TV Review

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

We’ve all seen plenty of television “Who Dunnits, some “How Dunnits” and even procedurals that focus on how the villains are going to get caught. Motive is a “Why Dunnit?”

May 2013 11

TV Flashback: Magnum, P.I.

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

A Ferrari 308GTS revs past scenes of ocean and tropical forest, a Detroit Tigers baseball cap, Hawaiian shirts, Higgins and “the lads”. T.C. pilots the chopper, Rick serves drinks at the King Kamehameha Club, the luxury of Robin’s Nest. For eight years, Thomas Magnum was on the case.

Mar 2013 30

TV Flashback: Jack Webb and the Dragnet Legacy

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Jack Webb Memories: “Just the facts, Ma’am,” “Dum de dum dum,” and dusty hands hammering the Mark VII imprint. Those were Jack’s hands and he had them all over radio, TV and film for more than four decades.

Feb 2013 23

TV Flashback: Spenser for Hire

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Robert B. Parker’s Spenser had already been a success in 11 books when it came to television in 1985 with Robert Urich in the title role. Parker’s internal monologues translated well to Spenser’s voiceovers on TV, defining a classic PI style that has been envied and copied by writers ever since.

Feb 2013 9

February TV Premieres

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Fantasy & Fangs, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Anthony Edwards (ER) stars in this drama about the publisher of the paranormal magazine, Modern Skeptic, who becomes involved in a centuries-old conspiracy when his wife is kidnapped from her antique clock shop. He finds a map in one of her clocks that sets him off and running with the help of two young associates and FBI agent Beck Riley played by Carmen Ejogo (who dazzled as “Sister” in Sparkle and starred as Sally Hemmings in the 2000 miniseries).

Jan 2013 19

TV Flashback: Remington Steele (NBC) 1982 to 1987

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

Licensed private detective, Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) opens her own detective agency only to find that clients don’t want to hire a woman. So she invents a fictitious male boss named Remington Steele. It works like a charm. That is until a former thief/con man (Pierce Brosnan) shows up and publicly assumes the identity of Remington Steele. Drama, comedy and romance ensue.

Jan 2013 5

January 2013 – New Season Premieres

2013 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

We’ve moved from “Tis the season” to “What is a TV season any more?” With networks introducing shows year round, the January rollouts of new offerings are identified as “Winter Premieres.” This is easily confused with what are called the “Winter Premieres” of returning shows, (ones that may have been off the air for a while - frequently heralded by daylong marathons of last season’s episodes.)

Nov 2012 24

New Tricks is a Treat: More than 9 million BBC Viewers Agree

2012 Articles, Deborah Harter Williams, Mysteryrat's Maze, TV

by Deborah Harter Williams

One of the most popular dramas on BBC One for ten years features an eccentric bunch of ex-policemen, brought out of retirement to investigate unsolved crimes.